Convertible sofa or passenger seat



E. K. MILLS, JR

CONVERTIBLE SOFA OR PASSENGER SEAT May 27, 195s 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 6, 1955 .m *A mls, 0L. Q v um mk.

A M, w R mm. l WA m \-o o 0 ..Quweo a CL M l DW |i|| @C m mm Uilm w/IlmmMay 27, 1958 E. K. MILLS, JR

CONVERTIBLE soEA 0R PASSENGER SEAT 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6. 1955May 27, 1958 E. K. MILLS, JR

CONVERTIBLE SOFA OR PASSENGER SEAT 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 6, 1955INVENTOR fou/ARD KAI/us, JR. -BYf/o/ @my ATTORNEYS.

May 27, 1958 E. K. MILLS, JR

CONVERTIBLE som 0E PASSENGER SEAT 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 6. 1955R. RM, d s.. OL n mm N M mK m m M m E h \l$w Mw xlw 11mm )Sw Q May 27,1958 E. K. MILLS, JR 2,835,901

CONVERTIBLE soEA 0R PASSENGER SEAT lNVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

May 27, 1958 E. K. MILLS, JR

CONVERTIBLE soEA 0R PASSENGER SEAT 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 6, 1955United States Patent O i CONVERTIBLE SOFA R PASSENGER SEAT Edward K.Mills, Jr., Morristown, N. J.

Application April 6, 1955, Serial No. 499,678

6 Claims. (Cl. 5 9) The present invention relates generally toconvertible seatingand sleeping devices, and more particularly to a sofaor passenger seat which may readily be converted into a doubleddeckerbed and which provides storage facilities as well as sleepingaccommodations.

The conventional double berth installation, such as is found in railroadsleepers, involves a relatively elaborate procedure 'before thepassenger seats can be made to provide sleeping accommodations. Thefloor area required for such berths is far greater than that taken bythe passenger seats. Moreover, such berths afford little storage spacefor clothing, blankets and similar items.

In air travel, the current tendency toward long distance ights hascreated a need for convertible seating and sleeping accommodations. Thereclining chair, while suitable for short flights, does not constitute asuitable all-night bed. On the other hand, convertible seats presentlyavailable for this purpose in planes are relatively difficult to operateunder the limited space conditions prevailing in a typical passengercabin.

While sofas convertible to double-decker beds have heretofore beensuggested for use in the home or in cabins and camps, such sofas havebeen excessively complicated and cumbersome from the mechanicalstandpoint and have provided inadequate sleeping room, particularlywhere the reclining occupant is of .above average height.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of my invention to provide animproved convertible sofa or passenger seat of relatively simplemechanical design which may be transformed quickly to a double-deckerbed and which furnishes comfortable seating and sleeping accommodationsfortwo. A convertible sofa in accordance with the invention is usefulnot only in trains, passenger planes and ships, but will nd applicationin homes, apartments and cabins to afford ample seating and sleepingfacili-ties in a limited space.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide -aconvertible sofa or passenger seat wherein the door space required bythe structure when operative as a double berth is not substantiallygreater than that entailed when making use of the sofa as a seat.

Still another object of the invention is to provide `a convertible sofaor passenger seat includinga built-in bed under removable sofa seatcushions, the sofa including fold-over sofa arms which are operativetoextend the effective length of the bed. t

A further object of the inventionfis to provide a highback sofa orpassenger seat wherein the cushioned front portion of the `sofaback isupwardly liftable to form an upper berth. Animportant feature of theinvention resides in the use of extensions for the upper "berthaffording ample sleeping quarters comparable to that available in thelower berth. A further feature of the invention resides in storagefacilities to which access is had when the front portion of the sofabackis raised.

l Yet another object of the invention is to provide a lowbackconvertible 'sofauorpas'senger `seat whereintheback `Wall ofthe sofa `isconstitutedby hinged sections which rice may be unfolded to provide anupper berth support, and wherein removable sofa seat cushions and sofaback cushion-s are adapted to form the mattress for the upper berthwithout the need of additional equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a convertible sofa orpassenger seat of sturdy and efficient construction which may bemanufactured `and sold at reasonable cost.

lFor a better understanding of my invention as well as other objects andfurther features thereof, reference is made to the following detaileddescription thereof to 'be read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein like components in the several views are identified bylike reference characters.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a high-back sofa or passenger seatin accordance with the invention as it appears when converted into adouble-decker bed.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the double-decker sofa bed orpassenger seat illustrated in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an end elevational View of the sofa when collapsed to form apassenger seat.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the high-back sofa as it appearswhen used as a passenger seat.

Fig. S is a front elevational view of a low-back sofa in accordance withthe invention when used as a passenger seat.

Fig. 6 is an end elevational view of the low-back sofa shown in Fig. 5when adapted to operate as a doubledecker bed.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the t double-deckerbed shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 i-s a top plan view of the double-decker bed shown in Figs. 6 and7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing a detail in Fig. 6.

Fig. l0 is an end elevational view of a preferred modification of alow-back sofa in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 11 is `a fragmentary front elevational view of the modifiedlow-back sofa shown in Fig. l0.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. l to 4,the convertible sofa of the present invention comprises a rectangularbase 10 having a box-like frame 11 in which is supported a built-inmattress 12. Mattress 12 may be formed with the usual inner springconstruction, or, if desired, may be fabricated of foam rubber. Belowframe 11 is a compartment 13 into which is inserted a pull-out drawer 14for storage purposes. Extending upwardly from the rear of frame 10 is ahigh back wall 15, topped by an inwardly extending horizontal ledge 16.

As best seen in Figs. l and 4, lyingabove mattress 12 at either endthereof are suitably cushioned fold-over sofa arms 17 and 18, the armsbeing pivotally secured to the frame of the sofa by hinges 19 and 20.The bottom portion of each arm is padded with a mattress section 21(note Fig. 1) such that when the arms are folded down, the overalllength of the mattress 12 is extended on either side to provide amplelower berth sleeping room. Resting on mattress 12 between arms-17 and 18are two removable cushions 22 and 23. Hingedly secured to the front edgeof ledge 16 by means of a hinge 40 is a backrest 24, which is alsodesigned to function, when lifted degrees upwardly, as a mattress forthe upper berth of the device. The back rest when in the foldeddownposition occupies a vertical position behind cushions 22 and 23.

Pivotally attached to the ends of back rest 24 bymeans of hinges 25 and26 are cushioned extension flaps 27 and 28. Rods 29 and `30 are providedat either end of thesofa to support the back rest 24 in its raisedposition,

aesaaoi The rods are coupled at their upper ends to the front edge ofextension aps 27 and 28 by means of coupling heads 31 and 32, eachhaving two mutually perpendicular pivot points 31a and 31b, and 32a and3211, respectively, to permit the rods to swing in a plane parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the raised back rest 24 and to rotate about anaxis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis. The lower ends of rods 29and 30 are receivable within sockets 33 and 34, mounted on the frontedge of side arms 17 and 18.

It will be noted in Fig. 3 that when the side flaps 27 and 28 are foldedagainst the ends of back rest 24, the rods 29 and 30 may be swunginwardly about pivots 31a and 32a so that the rods are tucked in belowthe foldeddown back rest 24, the rods being then disposed in parallelrelation by movement about pivot points 31h and 32h.

As best seen in Fig. 1, mounted on the front face of rear wall in thespace defined between the rear wall and the folded-down back rest 24 area medicine cabinet 35, a drawer 36, shelves 37, and several spaced hooks38 for supporting clothes hangers, such as hanger 39. These facilitiescan, of course, be used to store articles of apparel, toilet articles,etc.

The operation of the convertible sofa and the positions assumed by thevarious components thereof in the course of their adjustment will now beconsidered.

When the sofa is collapsed to serve as a seating accommodation, the sofahas the appearance shown in Fig. 4, where it will be seen that the twoside arms 17 and 18 lie above the built-in mattress 12 and the twocushions 22 and 23 are placed on the mattress between the two side arms.The back rest 24 occupies its folded-down or vertical position, Vtherebyconcealing the back wall storage space. The flaps 27 and 28 are foldedagainst the ends of back rest 24, and the rods are hidden behind theback rest so that the sofa presents a neat, compact appearance. It is tobe understood that conventional means, such as snap buttons or slidingbolts, may be used to hold the various elements of the convertible sofain the positions occupied when the sofa serves as a seat.

In order to provide double berth facilities, the pillows 22 and 23 arerst removed and stored away in drawer 14, for example. Side arms 17 and18 are then folded down to extend the length of the lower berth, backrest 24 is raised upwardly 90 degrees, the side flaps 27 and 28 areelevated, Vand rods 29 andl 30 are swung to their vertical position andinserted in sockets 33 and 34. Thus, by this very simple procedure thesofa is converted to a double-decker berth.

It will be appreciated that the total amount of floor space pre-emptedby the double-decker berth exceeds that of the structure acting as aseating sofa only by the space required for the side arms and flaps. Ina practical embodiment the sofa may be made in a 5 foot length, whilethe side arms are designed to provide 8 inch extensions, such that thetotal length of the bed is 6 feet -4 inches. Similarly, the back rest 24may be made in a 5 foot length with the side aps adding 8 inches toeither side thereof. The width of both the mattress 12 and the back rest24 is preferably 32 inches to provide ample sleeping space. Thesedimensions may, of course, be varied to suit particular requirements.Where, for example, the convertible sofa is intended for children, thenthe dimensions will be considerably smaller than those suggested above.I

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 9, there is shown a lowback convertiblesofa, in accordance with the invention, comprising a rectangular base 41provided with a boxlike frame 42 supporting a built-in mattress 43.Arranged below frame 42 in base 41 is a pull-out drawer 44. Disposedabove mattress 43 between a pair of foldable side arms 45 and 46 is aremovable one piece seat Vcushion 47, whose length is sumcient to seattwo.

As shown in Fig.' 6, base 41 is provided with a back wall constituted bytwo hinged sections 48 and 49, the sections having complementaryinwardly extending ledges 48a and 49a which are joined together by ahinge 50. Pivotally connected to the upper end of back wall section 49by means of a hinge 51 is a bedplate constituted by a pair of sections52 and 53 joined together by a hinge 54. In the collapsed condition ofthe convertible sofa, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6, section 53 ofthe bedplate is folded against section 52, While section 49 of the backwall is folded down to provide a channel between the parallel back wallsections 48 and 49, which channel is occupied by the folded bedplate 52,53.

Detachably mounted on the back wall section 49 are back rest cushions 55`and 56, which cushions are removed when the sofa is erected to form adouble-decker bed. To support the foldable bedplate 52, 53, a pair ofrods are provided, one of which rods 57 is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Thelower end of the rods is received within suitable sockets 58 and 59mounted on the front wall of base 41. The upper end of the rods isinserted in recesses formed in the underside of bedplate section 53.When the sofa is converted into a double-decker bed the mattress for theupper berth is made up by combining the seat cushion 47 with the backrest cushions 55 and 56.

As shown separately in Fig. 9, the back cushions are tixedly mounted inrigid rectangular frames, such as frame 55a. The frames are provided attheir underside with dovetail members, such as dovetail 55b, which areslidable within grooves formed in the bedplate, such as groove 52a. Theseat cushion is secured to the bed plate by means of pegs projectingfrom the underside of the cushion and inserted in appropriately placedholes in the bedplate (note peg 47a in Fig. 7).

Thus, the seat cushion 47 is centrally mounted on bcdi plate 52, 53 andthe back rest cushions 55 and 56 extend from either end thereof,wherebyfthe overall dimensions of the mattress thus formed is sucient toprovide an adequate and comfortable sleeping surface. When the back restcushions 55 and S6 are attached to back wall section 49 in the collapsedor seating condition of the sofa, they are inserted in suitable grooves49!) therein.

The procedure for converting from the seating state, as shown in Fig. 5,to the double-decker state,vas shown in Fig. 6, is as follow-s: The sidearms and 46 are rst folded down to provide an extension `for the builtinlower berth mattress 43. The back rest cushions and 56 are then detachedfrom the back wall section 49, and the section 49 is raised abovesection 48 and locked thereto by means such as a hook and pawlcombination 60.

The bedplate sections S2 and 53 are then unfolded and secured in placeby the vertical rods 57, which are mounted in sockets 58 and 59. Theseat cushion 47 is placed centrally on the bedplate and the backcushions are added thereto at either end. Thus, the bed may be quicklyand easily assembled. When used as a sofa, the rods may be stored in thechannel between back walls 48 and 49.

In the modification shown in Figs. 10 and 1l, the bedplate is eliminatedandthe upper berth mattress is supported on the back wall and onvertical supporting rods. Thus, in this modification, the back wall ofthe sofa is constituted by two pivotally connected sections 60 and 61,the upper section being coupled to the lower section by a hinge 62. Theseat 63, as Well as the back rest cushions, such as cushion 64, are eachprovided with a rigid mounting frame 63a and 64a, respectively. The backcushions are provided at the underside of the frame with dovetails, suchas 64b. l p

In order to support the upper berth mattress, a rail 65 is providedhaving coupling sockets 65a to receive the supporting rods 57. The upperend of the back wall section 61, as Well as rail 65, is vprovided withsuitable grooves for receiving the dovetails on the back rest cushions.The seat cushion 63 is provided at the underside with pegs 63h which areinsertable in suitable holes in the rail and in the upper section of theback Wall to support the seat cushion centrally, the back rest cushionsserving as extensions therefor.

Thus, in assembling the double-decker sofa, the side arms are rst foldeddown to extend the built-in lower berth mattress. The back rest cushions64 are removed, the back wall section 61 is elevated above section 60,the rods 57 are inserted in the side sockets 58 on the sofa base, therail 65 is mounted between the rods, and the seat cushion and back restcushions are mounted above the rail to provide the upper berth mattress.

While there have been shown what are considered at present to bepreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious that manychanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from theessential spirit of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A convertible sofa comprising a base, a built-in lower berth mattressmounted in said base, side arms pivotally connected to said base andresting on either end of said mattress, said arms being foldabledownwardly to provide cushioned extensions for said mattress, said basefurther including a back wall, a back rest cushion hingedly secured tothe upper end of said back wall, said back rest cushion when elevatedforming an upper berth mattress, a pair of extension flaps pivotallyconnected to either end of said back rest cushion and foldablethereagainst, said flaps when extended outwardly forming an extension ofsaid upper berth mattress, and removable rods extend` ing upwardly fromsaid downwardly folded side arms to said outwardly extended flaps tosupport said upper berth mattress.

2. A convertible sofa comprising a base, a built-in lower berth mattressmounted in said base, side arms pivotally connected to said base anddisposed at either end of said mattress, said arms being foldabledownwardly to provide cushioned extensions for said mattress, said basefurther including a back wall, said back wall terminating at the upperend in an inwardly extending ledge, a back rest cushion hingedly securedto said ledge and being spaced from said back wall to dene a storagespace, a pair of extension ilaps pivotally connected to either end ofsaid back rest cushion and foldable thereagainst, said back rest cushionwhen elevated forming an upper berth mattress, said flaps when extendedoutwardly forming an extension of said upper berth mattress, andremovable rods extending upwardly fum said downwardly folded side armson said lower berth to the outwardly extended flaps thereby to supportsaid upper berth.

3. A convertible sofa comprising a base: including a rectangular frame,a pull-out drawer below said frame and a relatively high back wallterminating in an inwardly extending ledge, a mattress supported in saidframe, side arms on either end of said mattress and hingedly connectedto said base, said arms being foldable downwardly to provide extensionsfor said mattress, a back rest cushion hingedly connected to said ledgeto form a storage space between said back wall and said rest `cushionwhich is exposed when said back rest cushion is elevated to form anupper berth mattress, side aps hingedly connected to said rest cushionand foldable thereagainst, said side flaps when extended outwardlyforming an extension of said upper berth mattress, rods pivotallyconnected at one end to said aps, and sockets mounted in said side armsto receive the free ends of said rods when said rods extend upwardlyfrom the downwardly folded side arms and the outwardly extended flaps tosupport said upper berth mattress.

4. A convertible sofa, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said rods arepivotally connected to said flaps by coupling heads havingmutually-perpendicular pivot points, whereby when said back rest cushionis lowered, said rods are foldable into said storage space.

5. A convertible sofa, as set forth in claim 4, further includingcabinets and shelves mounted on said back wall within said storagespace.

6. A convertible sofa, as set forth in claim 5, further including a pairof removable seat cushions disposed between said side arms.

'References Cited in the file of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS569,679 Stokes Oct. 20, 1896 2,739,319 Keller Mar. 27, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 2,646 Great Britain 1875 24,569 Great Britain 1898 216,201 GreatBritain May 2l, 1924 377,496 France July 12, 1907

